Modern Family star Ed O'Neill has revealed he nicknamed co-star Sofia Vergara 'Jessica Rabbit'.

Sofia plays Ed's much younger wife in the mockumentary TV show and speaking at the Paley Fest 2010 in Beverly Hills, Ed told how the curvy actress reminded him of the sexy cartoon character.

Ed said: "She's marvellous, she's very funny and she's bright, she's amazing, I'm totally amazed by her... I call her Jessica Rabbit - she reminds me of that cartoon character, physically, she's so stunning."

He added: "When they told me I was going to play her husband I said, 'It makes perfect sense'."

And Sofia loves working with Ed too.

She said: "He's fantastic, we have a great time because we have a lot of chemistry. We work the same way... we do our job and no drama, nothing. We want to get out there and do our thing. So we have a lot of fun working together."

But she confessed she sometimes struggles to keep a straight face while filming.

Sofia revealed: "It's hard but we do it, we have to go there and work but it's great because we wake up every day happy to go to work. It's a pleasure to go to work because we all like each other and we all have chemistry. We all enjoy the writing, that is so fantastic. So it's the perfect job."

The Golden Globe nominated show has been renewed for a second season, to air on ABC in September.